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Should the US have an official language?
The most common language in the US is Enlish, should it be made the official language?
Note roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
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Note roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
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October 27, 2009 05:27 PM
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I believe that in some of the poorer states, the official language was declared to save the cost of having to have signs and other official documents in more than one language.
I believe that this country can be a melting pot without being a Tower of Babel. An official language does not keep people from speaking their native languages. It is something that binds us, makes us a cohesive unit. As a country, we need one thing that defines us, and English would be it.
Since most of us already speak English as our primary language, it would not be unreasonable to make it official. Immigrants who choose to make their homes here need to become a part of our country, not bring their own with them and make us become part of theirs.
If you have ever been in a place where everyone is speaking another language you do not understand, you know how uneasy you feel. We should not feel uneasy in our native country.
Besides that, not speaking English creates all sorts of barriers. Here in FL, we were the epicenter of the contruction boom. Many people from other countries such as Haiti, Mexico, and Cuba were here working in the homebuilding industry as laborers. I was working at one temporary agency that had a sign saying "English speakers only". They gave a test to make sure that the person spoke English well enough to be able to work for a native English speaking supervisor. This was because their customers were complaining that they could not communicate with the people they were sending them.
In Miami, if you don't speak Spanish it's difficult to get a job in service, since many of the residents there are native Spanish speakers. If they had been forced to learn English when they came here, there would be no need to discriminate in employment practices.
Still, it takes time to learn English, so a reasonable length of time should be given for immigrants to learn, but illegals should not be given legal status unless and until they can speak the primary language of our country. Right now, those seeking citizenship are required to take 6 months of English lessons. I have an Indian friend who thinks that is enough, and that she doesn't need to learn anymore, although she gets constant complaints from customers where she works that she doesn't understand them. She can't comprehend that we study English for many years in school, and still are not experts. I believe two years of English lessons would be a reasonable requirement.
Try going to Mexico and see if they care that you don't speak Spanish. Locals will take advantage of "gringos" in a heartbeat. The same happens in this country every day. If there were an official language, and everyone was required to learn it, there would be fewer ways to take advantage.
I believe that this country can be a melting pot without being a Tower of Babel. An official language does not keep people from speaking their native languages. It is something that binds us, makes us a cohesive unit. As a country, we need one thing that defines us, and English would be it.
Since most of us already speak English as our primary language, it would not be unreasonable to make it official. Immigrants who choose to make their homes here need to become a part of our country, not bring their own with them and make us become part of theirs.
If you have ever been in a place where everyone is speaking another language you do not understand, you know how uneasy you feel. We should not feel uneasy in our native country.
Besides that, not speaking English creates all sorts of barriers. Here in FL, we were the epicenter of the contruction boom. Many people from other countries such as Haiti, Mexico, and Cuba were here working in the homebuilding industry as laborers. I was working at one temporary agency that had a sign saying "English speakers only". They gave a test to make sure that the person spoke English well enough to be able to work for a native English speaking supervisor. This was because their customers were complaining that they could not communicate with the people they were sending them.
In Miami, if you don't speak Spanish it's difficult to get a job in service, since many of the residents there are native Spanish speakers. If they had been forced to learn English when they came here, there would be no need to discriminate in employment practices.
Still, it takes time to learn English, so a reasonable length of time should be given for immigrants to learn, but illegals should not be given legal status unless and until they can speak the primary language of our country. Right now, those seeking citizenship are required to take 6 months of English lessons. I have an Indian friend who thinks that is enough, and that she doesn't need to learn anymore, although she gets constant complaints from customers where she works that she doesn't understand them. She can't comprehend that we study English for many years in school, and still are not experts. I believe two years of English lessons would be a reasonable requirement.
Try going to Mexico and see if they care that you don't speak Spanish. Locals will take advantage of "gringos" in a heartbeat. The same happens in this country every day. If there were an official language, and everyone was required to learn it, there would be fewer ways to take advantage.
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October 26, 2009 06:15 PM
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Why should we have an official language, the president is going to let illegals become citizens without even being able to speak/read English, so, what's the point? (This was a sarcastic statement, not trying to hurt your feelings, but to be honest I am so over all the money makers trying to move and shake our economy into a crash and burn scenario--to such an extent that everything is getting changed, not for the better I might add).
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October 26, 2009 06:22 PM
Not trying to hurt your feelings, but the economy was on a crash-and-burn course months before Obama even got elected. In fact, congress had a secret meeting back in March of 2008 to discuss the inevitable crash of the US economy. There's no way Obama caused the downfall of our economy in only a few short weeks in office. This has been coming for awhile spurred on by many things; i.e. the war, natural disasters like hurricanes, the rise of the cost of gasoline after Bush told everyone he wasn't going to stand for price gouging, etc.
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October 26, 2009 06:32 PM
Not only does this debate pre-date Obama, it pre-dates my birth. ^_^ (I think conversations about this started around WW II)
Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
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Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
October 26, 2009 11:37 PM
I didn't say Obama did this. LOL I said the MONEY CHANGERS. People who are in power are always manipulating things and this has always been the way. The only problem I see lately, is that most of the changes have all been on a sliding scale to destroy rather than to BUILD our world up. I think we should have an official language but it seems such a moot point to even try with all of the monetary incentives sent people's way to be bilingual. People want money rather than less confusion.
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October 26, 2009 06:18 PM
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Well, we are "the great melting pot," so probably not, but if you do not speak English, expect to have a difficult time getting around and getting things done, because anytime anyone is in a foreign country of which they do not speak the language, they are going to have problems.
So, I guess my answer is no official language, but have fun getting around if you don't know the language. I don't go to France and expect everyone to understand my stupid, English-speaking, non-french-speaking butt, so don't expect much out of me when the tables are turned.
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So, I guess my answer is no official language, but have fun getting around if you don't know the language. I don't go to France and expect everyone to understand my stupid, English-speaking, non-french-speaking butt, so don't expect much out of me when the tables are turned.
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October 26, 2009 06:31 PM
Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
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Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
October 26, 2009 06:19 PM
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_lang.html#
http://www.lifeintheusa.com/landhistory/official.htm Helpful Answer? (0)
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No "official language" is mentioned or contemplated in the Constitution.
English has never been legally made the official language of the United States. Hundreds of world languages (in fact every language on the face of the globe) are spoken in America among immigrant communities. Native American tribes, especially the larger tribes such as the Navajo in the southwest, maintain their own vital languages.
Although not the "official language" it is the "de facto language" of the US.
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English has never been legally made the official language of the United States. Hundreds of world languages (in fact every language on the face of the globe) are spoken in America among immigrant communities. Native American tribes, especially the larger tribes such as the Navajo in the southwest, maintain their own vital languages.
Although not the "official language" it is the "de facto language" of the US.
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_lang.html#
http://www.lifeintheusa.com/landhistory/official.htm Helpful Answer?
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October 26, 2009 06:31 PM
Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
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Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
October 26, 2009 06:26 PM
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Sign language is as good a choice as any to be an official language. We should stay just the way we are as who knows if in the future there are more Spanish speaking people than English here in the USA. What then? Change it to Spanish? No..., we should just be a "no official language" kind of country.
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October 26, 2009 06:33 PM
Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
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Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
October 26, 2009 06:44 PM
Yes.
I believe it is well within the states rights to declare an official language. This is certainly not a matter for federal intervention. I just don't think it is a good idea.
What about cities? Could they declare their own official languages?
I think the reason that the declaration of an official language by any sort of government would set a prejudicial precedent allowing for the possible formation of the placement of sectional laws further dividing the nation into pieces not working together but almost against each other.
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I believe it is well within the states rights to declare an official language. This is certainly not a matter for federal intervention. I just don't think it is a good idea.
What about cities? Could they declare their own official languages?
I think the reason that the declaration of an official language by any sort of government would set a prejudicial precedent allowing for the possible formation of the placement of sectional laws further dividing the nation into pieces not working together but almost against each other.
October 27, 2009 05:08 PM
I believe I read that some states declared English as the official language to save the cost of having to have signs in more than one language.
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October 26, 2009 07:26 PM
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I think there is great merit in the US having a common language. The benefits to the country would be immense If EVERYONE was made to learn it. Not only that but they should be made to read the and history of the country as part of the compulsory language lessons. Too many 'So called Americans' are unfamiliar with the The bedrock of society. They don't feel that they should be made to read them and almost feel affronted when its suggested they do.
Now its all agreed that the purpose of a common language isn't to penalize immigrants to the United States. In fact its entirely the opposite. If people can't be bothered to learn the national language they shouldn't be allowed to be full citizens.
Having multiple languages is not an efficient way to run a country, and the argument that there are millions of Spanish speakers doesn't cut it. Just because a lot of people can speak the language does not grant it legitimacy.
And that is why America should have a common language. And thats why it should be GERMAN. ;)
English clearly isn't up to the job. The huge amount of under educated English speakers who can't even recall the Constitution is testimony to this. Now I'm no dictator. Everyone will be free to speak their own languages at home or even at work. But all official business should be conducted in the new official language... German.
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Now its all agreed that the purpose of a common language isn't to penalize immigrants to the United States. In fact its entirely the opposite. If people can't be bothered to learn the national language they shouldn't be allowed to be full citizens.
Having multiple languages is not an efficient way to run a country, and the argument that there are millions of Spanish speakers doesn't cut it. Just because a lot of people can speak the language does not grant it legitimacy.
And that is why America should have a common language. And thats why it should be GERMAN. ;)
English clearly isn't up to the job. The huge amount of under educated English speakers who can't even recall the Constitution is testimony to this. Now I'm no dictator. Everyone will be free to speak their own languages at home or even at work. But all official business should be conducted in the new official language... German.
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October 26, 2009 07:41 PM
While I see your point about a single language how would you feel bout the merits of 'ōlelo pa'i 'ai?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin
October 26, 2009 07:53 PM
Well that would be an option... although its probably got too much english in it...
Although as a compromise I'm perfectly willing to accept Welsh or Cherokee. The point is that if a national language is going to be inflicted on one group of people, then why not inflict it on everyone. That way everyone would get an equal measure of benefits and effort. Fairness and equality being foundations of the American way of life...
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Although as a compromise I'm perfectly willing to accept Welsh or Cherokee. The point is that if a national language is going to be inflicted on one group of people, then why not inflict it on everyone. That way everyone would get an equal measure of benefits and effort. Fairness and equality being foundations of the American way of life...
October 26, 2009 07:44 PM
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I do believe we should have an official language (English), but I don't think that means we should discourage people from maintaining their own languages, using other languages within the United States, or teaching other languages in schools. I believe the federal government should declare English the official US language because if we are going to be a no-official-language country, we should be printing every legal document in every world language, and every student in every school should be legally entitled to a teacher who speaks their language. That, to me, would be the only way to fairly remain neutral, but such neutrality would bankrupt us (not to mention infringe upon our ability to talk to anyone). Our only other options are to claim to be neutral but act in a discriminatory manner (I'm betting English and Spanish would win out nationally), or just declare an official language. I think it should come from the federal government, not the states, because this is a matter of national equal treatment.
Really, I believe it is in everyone's best interest if we at least make an effort to speak a common language. We need to be able to relate emergency information in an efficient, immediate way. If children go to school and are told "you don't need to learn English, we'll just educate you in whatever language you want" we're also telling them "when there's a state of emergency or a national disaster, you can go ahead and pray that someone who speaks your language translates for you--good luck!" Children are able to learn many languages at once growing up, so why not make English one of them?
Personally, if I were to move to France, I would expect to learn French. If I moved to China, I would expect to learn Chinese. Why is that when people move here, they expect that their child will get to be in a special Spanish class with one teacher to five students, while the English speaking kids are crammed in like sardines with 40 students to one teacher? Why do they expect that every time they want a social service, we social service providers will pay a translator to sit with us?
I understand that English is not an easy language to learn, and it can take time. However, it honestly drives me crazy when I meet people whose children are obviously native English speakers, and are translating for the parents. The family has been in the country long enough for the 12-year-old to grow up, but mom and dad haven't learned more than a few words. Who thinks that's responsible? Learning new things doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your own culture.
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Really, I believe it is in everyone's best interest if we at least make an effort to speak a common language. We need to be able to relate emergency information in an efficient, immediate way. If children go to school and are told "you don't need to learn English, we'll just educate you in whatever language you want" we're also telling them "when there's a state of emergency or a national disaster, you can go ahead and pray that someone who speaks your language translates for you--good luck!" Children are able to learn many languages at once growing up, so why not make English one of them?
Personally, if I were to move to France, I would expect to learn French. If I moved to China, I would expect to learn Chinese. Why is that when people move here, they expect that their child will get to be in a special Spanish class with one teacher to five students, while the English speaking kids are crammed in like sardines with 40 students to one teacher? Why do they expect that every time they want a social service, we social service providers will pay a translator to sit with us?
I understand that English is not an easy language to learn, and it can take time. However, it honestly drives me crazy when I meet people whose children are obviously native English speakers, and are translating for the parents. The family has been in the country long enough for the 12-year-old to grow up, but mom and dad haven't learned more than a few words. Who thinks that's responsible? Learning new things doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your own culture.
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October 26, 2009 08:32 PM
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America is a country made up of people from thousands of different nationalities, which means we are country made up of thousands of different languages. While English is what is predominately spoken here, it is by far not the only language spoken here. We can't, in truth, as a nation, declare a national language and still expect to be able to hold up the belief that we are the land of the free. How can we be a free land, if our people (legal immigrants included - after all, none of us "native-Americans" would be here if our ancestors hadn't immigrated) can't even feel free to speak their own language?
Sure, I am all for teaching them to be able to communicate in English, but why can't we also, in turn learn their languages? Why must it be English and only English? Think about it, the immigrants that learn to speak English become bi-lingual and therefore are more useful in the work-force. So why are the rest of us so against learning other languages? Why must they be the only ones to learn a language other than their own? It's not quite fair.
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Sure, I am all for teaching them to be able to communicate in English, but why can't we also, in turn learn their languages? Why must it be English and only English? Think about it, the immigrants that learn to speak English become bi-lingual and therefore are more useful in the work-force. So why are the rest of us so against learning other languages? Why must they be the only ones to learn a language other than their own? It's not quite fair.
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October 26, 2009 09:05 PM
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Cheap,
Regarding your subquestions:
1-Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
The impact seems to be "symbolic." States and local govs. print election materials and mail it to any address in multiple languages, non-english speaking criminals have to have an interpreter.
Hospitals want to attract Hispanic patients, and at the same time they have to comply with Title VI Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 2000 Executive Order No. 13166 if they are taking Medicaid and Medicare money. So everything has to be translated.
For more ex. click here:
http://www.languageandlaw.org/LANGRTS.HTM
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/engonly3.htm
2-Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
States should not be allowed to declare an official language, they have no sovereignity and are part of a larger political entity.
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Regarding your subquestions:
1-Roughly half the states have declared English as the official language, what impacts has this had on state legislation?
The impact seems to be "symbolic." States and local govs. print election materials and mail it to any address in multiple languages, non-english speaking criminals have to have an interpreter.
Hospitals want to attract Hispanic patients, and at the same time they have to comply with Title VI Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 2000 Executive Order No. 13166 if they are taking Medicaid and Medicare money. So everything has to be translated.
For more ex. click here:
http://www.languageandlaw.org/LANGRTS.HTM
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/engonly3.htm
2-Do you think it is within a State's right to declare an official language?
States should not be allowed to declare an official language, they have no sovereignity and are part of a larger political entity.
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October 26, 2009 11:29 PM
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I do believe we should have an official language, and I think in order to gain citizenship, resident aliens should be required to take and pass the citizenship test in English.
I think that in order to receive the benefits of being a citizen of this country, we should have certain responsibilities too, and speaking English is one of them.
I think speaking English in school should be required too.
That said, I think all American children should be required to learn at least one other primary language too.
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I think that in order to receive the benefits of being a citizen of this country, we should have certain responsibilities too, and speaking English is one of them.
I think speaking English in school should be required too.
That said, I think all American children should be required to learn at least one other primary language too.
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October 27, 2009 12:48 PM
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It makes the most sense to have one standard language for communication. We agree on so many other protocols to simplify our lives. Why not standardize on one language to simplify government communication? That doesn't prevent businesses from posting signs in multiple languages, but it would simplify public schools and government communication.
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